The subject of true and false prophesying has been raised recently. See @derekradney especially. It’s important because as @PLeithart notes in his fine commentary on 1&2 Kings, Israel’s history is not so much political as it is prophetic.
One example - Ahab. Not only does he despise & reject the three prophets God mercifully sends him, but he embraces the hundreds who falsely prophesy in God’s name. That latter fact is the issue. It’s not that the false prophets are invoking Baal but YHWH.
Ahab’s prophets are false for numerous reasons but let me cite just one. They aimed to reinforce an unholy alliance between Judah’s future king and Ahab’s daughter Athaliah, a disaster that resulted in the attempted destruction of the Messianic hope.
Prophetically backing unholy alliances - defending the union of what God has separated - nearly led to the disastrous destruction of Judah. They are false not simply because of false predictions but because of errant theology.
I’m going to put this as plainly as I can. The Church today is disturbed, divided, and misled because of false prophets. They aren’t false in an obvious sense (or only in a narrow ‘charismatic’ sense) because they operate within otherwise orthodox settings & use orthodox terms.
These false prophets long for an unholy alliance. They support in the name of of the Lord a union of human government & church mission. Both church & state are gifts from God but they’re to be separated & distinguished. Improper alignments of these two entities...
... always leads to false prophets supporting that union (and I see it in Court Evangelicals), to the scattering of God’s flock on the hills, and the endangerment of the Gospel’s progress in the world. The false religious leaders who’ve pandered to power & propped up evil...
...bear responsibility for the deception of the flock, the supplanting of hope in Christ with hope in a political savior, and the confusion of Christ’s Kingdom with the government of the United States. There are far too many to name but you know who they are.
You love this country best not by trying to turn it into a conservative theocracy but by preserving intact the robust distinctions between church & state, by praying for those in authority, and always looking to share Christ with all. The USA is not Israel. The Church however...
...must learn by Israel’s example. The Church needs to get out of the politics business - though individual Christians should seek to serve across all party lines - and get back on mission of bringing good news to the world. That’s prophetic!
Finally, I’m not invoking @derekradney or @PLeithart here to suggest they’d agree with what I’ve written but rather to thank them for their excellent work. I am their debtor.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with David Cassidy

David Cassidy Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @dpcassidyC3

13 Jan
Church Leaders/Pastors in the US have a very difficult challenge in helping congregations navigate the swirling political waters. How to help?
1. Keep pointing people to Christ. Scripture reveals him and directs us to proclaim him. Pastors aren't pundits but prophets. So...
...don't make the political issue/s the subject of the message. Make the beauty and love of Christ the only possible answer to the idols of politics, and the glorious splendor of his Kingdom the only possible way for our desires to be fully realized.
2. Point out that subordinate loves become idols when we ascribe to them the devotion and passion that belongs to Christ alone. Idols will always fail to give life but will not fail to kill. Summon God's people to their first love. It's critical to get disordered loves in line.
Read 11 tweets
12 Jan
Love divine, all loves excelling,
joy of heav’n, to earth come down,
fix in us thy humble dwelling,
all thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesus, thou art all compassion,
pure, unbounded love thou art.
Visit us with thy salvation;
enter ev'ry trembling heart.
Breathe, O breathe thy loving Spirit
into ev’ry troubled breast.
Let us all in thee inherit,
let us find the promised rest.
Take away the love of sinning;
Alpha and Omega be.
End of faith, as its beginning,
set our hearts at liberty.
Come, Almighty, to deliver,
let us all thy life receive.
Suddenly return, and never,
nevermore they temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
serve thee as thy hosts above,
pray, and praise thee without ceasing,
glory in thy perfect love.
Read 4 tweets
12 Jan
We return to our 'first love' for Jesus because he 'first loved us'. This is top-button stuff. If we get the supreme love, the top love, wrong, everything else will be crooked. Get 'first love' first, and all other loves will be in joyful order.
pastordavidcassidy.com/christian-nati…
When we make a proper and subordinate love a supreme love - including love of country or even a cause - and supplant love for Christ with this lesser love, we turn that love into something deadly. The lust for power and the fear of loss are driving these actions.
You can see the idolatrous love in action when people act & speak violently, moved by anger and heart-homicide for others, and do this in the name of Jesus. They deny the very one who bought them using his name to defend their hatred, anger, and arrogance. It's time to repent.
Read 5 tweets
10 Jan
Christian Nationalism is a destructive heresy that betrays the Gospel, sullies the Church's witness, and leads to death, not life. It poisons the soul, divides the Church, and destroys people. Seeking to reign rather than serve, it reflects hell rather than heaven.
Christian Nationalism takes a legitimate subordinate love - the love of one's country - and makes it a sinfully supreme love. This is obvious by its willingness to ignore the teaching of Jesus in the name of its cause, to kill and destroy rather than love and serve.
In so doing, it makes this love an idol - and thus a demon. And it is the unleashing of the demonic, of the hellish, of the fearful and horrid, of death, that we saw unleashed in Washington DC this past week, and all surrounded by Jesus banners.
Read 6 tweets
8 Jan
Arise, my soul, arise,
shake off your guilty fears:
the bleeding Sacrifice
in my behalf appears:
before the throne my Surety stands,
before the throne my Surety stands,
my name is written on his hands.
He ever lives above,
for me to intercede,
his all-redeeming love,
his precious blood to plead;
his blood atoned for ev'ry race,
his blood atoned for ev'ry race,
and sprinkles now the throne of grace.
Five bleeding wounds he bears,
received on Calvary;
they pour effectual prayers,
they strongly plead for me.
"Forgive him, O forgive," they cry,
"Forgive him, O forgive," they cry,
"nor let that ransomed sinner die!"
Read 4 tweets
6 Jan
Epiphany - "a sudden realization--a flash of recognition in which someone or something is seen in a new light." That's one possible definition, though highly personal and subjective. A Christian Feast then? Yes, but for good reason. First of all...
...its a celebration of God making his salvation known to the whole world, the Magi's visit both partial fulfillment of the promise to Abraham and all the prophets, and a dramatic prophecy of what history will look like at the end: "All nations will come and worship." Secondly...
Epiphany isn't about our capacity to perceive God without his aid, but a confession of his grace opening our eyes to the reality of Christ. The Magi saw and worshipped; Herod saw, and was enraged. What is our response to the vision - the epiphany - of God's saving rule in Christ?
Read 4 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!